Timaru real estate agent and branch manager fined for failure to disclose subfloor issues

Tuesday, 9 June 2026

A real estate salesperson and her branch manager have each been fined $4000 after misleading a couple about subfloor problems at a property they wanted to buy for their first home.

Maria Clark, based in Timaru, and Tony Quayle in Christchurch, both working for Property Brokers, were found guilty of unsatisfactory conduct by the Real Estate Authority’s Complaints Assessment Committee in a recently released decision.

The case centred on Clark’s failure to properly disclose the history and extent of subfloor issues at a property she was selling, and Quayle’s failure to adequately supervise her.

The property was listed in January 2024, with Clark as co-listing agent.

A few months later, a conditional sale fell through after a building report flagged subfloor problems, and the vendors withdrew the property from the market to carry out remedial work and fix a leak.

When the vendors told Clark the work was done and the property was ready to be re-listed in September 2024, she asked who had completed the repairs.

She was told it had been done by their “builder mate”, prompting Clark to ask for written documentation of the work, but none was ever provided, and she re-listed the property regardless.

When the couple viewed the property that same month, Clark told them it had come back on the market after subfloor works.

She did not tell them the full history, that a previous sale had collapsed specifically because of the building report, or that the remedial work had been carried out by the “builder mate” with no documentation to support it.

The couple entered a conditional agreement to purchase the property, but cancelled it in October 2024 after receiving their own unsatisfactory building report.

The committee found Clark had fallen well short of her obligations, and under the rules governing real estate agents, she was required either to obtain proper confirmation, backed by evidence or expert advice, that the defects had been fixed, or to clearly spell out the risks to prospective buyers so they could seek their own expert advice.

Telling buyers to get a building inspection was not enough, and she was required to go further and specifically flag the underlying risks associated with the subfloor history.

Clark argued she could only pass on what the vendors told her but the committee rejected that outright, finding it demonstrated a serious misunderstanding of her professional obligations.

Quayle, as Clark’s branch manager, was found to have provided supervision that was reactive rather than proactive.

He conducted spot checks on Clark’s paperwork only two or three times a year and leaned heavily on an unqualified sales manager to provide day-to-day oversight, something the law did not permit.

The committee found that even a basic review of the re-listing would likely have flagged the issues.

Both agents were censured and fined $4000 each, reduced from a starting point of $5000 in recognition of their clean disciplinary records.

The matter was also referred to the Disciplinary Tribunal to consider whether the couple, who sought about $15,000 in compensation including lost First Home Buyer Grants, should receive a payout.